Constant flow oil dripper



Dec. 3, 1963 J. A. PluMA CONSTANT FLow onJ DRIPPER Filed Nov. 24. 1961 OIL RESERVOIR FIG.I.

INVENTOR. JOSEPH A. PIUMA ATTORNEYS.

. improved oil drip valve.

YCONSTANT FLOW OIL DRIPPER Josephk A. Piuma, 228 N. Avenue 19, Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Nov. 24, 1961,' Ser. No.'154,525 6 Claims. (Cl. 184-6) v yThis applica-tion relates generally to valves for controlling'fthe iiow of uids, and has particu-lar reference to an A primary object of the present invention isto provide an voil .drip valve incorporating means for automatically maintaining constant flow or passage of the oil v.through the' valve, at any given valve setting, notwithstanding changes in viscosity of the oil occasioned by changes in the oil temperature.

- A funther object vof the present invention is to provide a constant ilow oil drip valve which is extremely simple in construction, having relatively few parts `and adapted to be manufactured inexpensively of plastic or other mate- :ri-als.

A furtherl object of -the present invention is to provide an oil drip valve embodying means )for the circulation of a heatgexchange iluid for maintaining the temperature and hence the viscosity of the oil passing through the valve at a substantially constant value.

Still another object of fthe present invention is to provide a novel constant drip oil valve in combination with novel means for circulating la heat-exchange fluid in heatexchange relationship with said valve.

The general method employedy to lubncate bearings in deep well water pumps and in other equipment such as,

` for example, refrigeration system compressors, is to employ oil -directed drop-wise onto the bearings by means of a manually adjustable needle valve or the like,`com monly referred to las an yoil drip valve. Such devices are quite satisfactory in use so long yas the oil is not subject to temperature changes. However,' when used yfor the lubrication of deep Wel-l pumps and'other devices, fthe oil is lexposed .to wide variations'in temperature, especially in the Western and .southwestern portions of the United States, lwherein atmospheric temperature changes of 30- 40 F. within a twenty-four hour period are quite usual.

Y Under such conditions, the conventional oil drip valves provey .to be considerably troublesome, inasmuch as the viscosity of the oil v'changes markedly with change in temperature, either reducing or increasing `the flow of `oil through the valve and into the bearings, 'causing on the one hand possible damage to the bearings, and on the other hand 4waste of oil. The only solution heretofore to this problem has been constant checking of the flow of oil through the valve and repeated manual adjustment of the valve in fan attempt to maintain a reasonably constant llow of oil therethrough. The present invention solves this problem land provides means lwhereby the ilow of oil through. a drip valve is maintained substantially constant under widetemperat-ure variations, with little o-r no, supervision by the equipment operator and without any necessity for additional operating cost. Y

Brieily, vthe above and other objects and advantage of this invention are accomplished by providing the'kdrip valve with -a jacket or other means for the circulation of -a v'heat-exchange fluid inherit-exchange relationship with the body of the valve so las to maintain the temperature of the oil passing ytherethrough at a substantially constant value. A preferred embodiment of the invention, as applied to the lubrication of deep lwell Water pumps, comprises the circulation o-f -a small portion of the water being pumped in heat-exchange relationship with the valve for ytemperature control thereof.

t Other objects and advantages of the present invention, it is believed will be readily apparent from the following 3,1 12,813 Patented Dec. 3, 1963 ICC 2' t detailed description of a preferred embodimentt'hereof, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the dnawingsz.

FIGURE l is a diagnammatic side elevation, in t section, illustrating fthe apparatus ofthe present inven tio-n. f

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation `taken Vsubstan-r FIGURE 5 is Ia sectional elevation taken substantially n f on lthe line 5-5 of FIGURE 4.

Referring now to the drawings, ftheconstant oil drip valve 10 of the present invention is shown as applied to the lubrication lof the bearings (not shown) on the shaft 11 o-f a pump (not shown) submerged in a Water v well 12. While this application constitutesa preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is Vto be understood that the invention is not to be so limited, andthe valve 10 is adapted to be used in other types of lubricating systems.

Referring now to FIGURES Zand 3, the valve 106cmprises a valve body 11 comprising -a generally cylindrical upper portion 12, a tubular side extension member18, a generally lcylindrical central pontion V13, of reduced diameter with respect to 'the portion 12, the interior Wall of the portion 13 forming Ia conical valve seat 15. Also forming an integral part of the valve body l10 are a pair lof oppositely-extending tubular members 1'6A and 1'1 which 13 opposite` merge together on either side of the portion the center thereof, the members 16 and 17 forminga jacket surrounding the portion 13 and the valve seatr` `15. Thus,` the tubular members 16 and 17,

faces 16a and 17a yfor the reception of flexibleiinlet and outlet tubes 20 Iand 21, provide a passageway 23 for they circulation lof heat-exchange iluid therethrough in heat-l exchange relationship with the portion 13 andthevalve body and its associated pants in general. Y

The upper portion 12 of the valve body 10 is internally' threaded for the reception ofa valve member Y25 and externally threaded'for the reception of a seal'bushing 26.v

The valve memlberjhas on the upperA end :thereof allA fakia'l-" Ily-grooved head portion-28 for manual adjustment'of'thef valve, and is provided lat its lower end with avalve stem 30 having a conical end 31 adaptedY to seaton the valve n seat 15; v

The tubular extension 18 is provided atl its outer 'end with threads (not shown) for the reception yof aconnection -tting 34 of an oil supply line-35 leading from theoil reservoir 36.

The lower portion of the valve body 10 V'has a generally cylindrical wall ltl'providedA with'oppositely dis# posed inspection ports 41, a transparent tubular memberv 42 being disposed interiorly of the wall 40 to prevent leakage of cil throughY the ports, wall 40 is threaded for the reception of a sealing collar 45, the lower end of which is in for the reception of the oil outlet line 46.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1, the oil out-Y let line 46 extends into the casing of the Iwell 12 for lubrication of the pump bearings in the usual manner. Means are provided for circulating or passing a portion of the Water being pumped through the passage -23 in heatexchange relationship with the valve 10, and as shown in the drawings, these means may include a pair of fittings 50 of identical construction. As shown in vFIGURE 4, these are generally tubular, having Aat one end a tapered, circumferentially grooved surface 51 for the reception of which pro- K vided with tapered, ycircumferenti-ally grooved,"ou-terfsurfr The lower end of the.V

turn linternally threaded one of the ilexible lines or 21, Ia central body portion 52 having external threads and la hexagonal tool-receiving head portion 53, 'and a generally cylindrical lower portion 54 with a closed end 55, but with a longitudinal side opening 56. The ittings 50 are installed in tapped holes in the wall of the water outlet pipe 60 as shown in FIG- URE 1. It is to Ibe noted that the tting 50 to which the water inlet tube 20 is attached is positioned in the discharge line 60 with the opening 56 facing the direction of ilow of water in the line 60, whereas the tting 50 to which the water outlet tube 2.1 is attached is disposed in the outlet line 60 `with the opening 56 racing in the opposite direction, i.e. downstream with respect to the ilow of water through the line 60.

In operation of the device Ithus described, the Valve member is turned to open the valve to an extent necessary to provide the desired number of drops of oil flowing therethrough per unit time, 'as observed visually through the ponts 41. In 4use of the valve, a portion of the Water being pumped is passed from the inlet lixture 50 through the line 20, into heat-exchange relationship with ythe valve body 11 and particularly the narrow annulus 65 through which the oil ows, the water then owing through the outlet 'tube 21 to be returned to the `discharge line 60 through the other fitting 50. During any given season of the year yand indeed throughout the year in many sections of the contry, the water -from Water wells remains at a substantially constant temperature, and thus by means of the valve of the present invention, the liow of such water therethrough maintains the oil passing through the valve yat substantially the same constant tempenature. By this means, the Viscosity of the oil is maintained substantially constant, and in turn the drop-wise flow of oil through the valve remains uniform and constant vat any given valve setting.

It is to be understood that for applications other than that described above, Iand in fact in such an application, uids other than water may be utilized .fas heat-exchange media for maintenance of substantially constant temperature of the valve body and the oil owing therethrough.

Having =fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish -to be limited to Ithe details set forth, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In 'a lubrication system Afor a deep well water pump, said well having a water discharge line, the combination of an oil reservoir; `an oil drip valve assembly, said valve assembly comprising -a valve body having walls forming a central chamber With a valve seat, a valve member having a valve stem cooperating with said seat for varying the flow of oil through said valve, inlet means leading to said chamber for Iadmission of oil thereto, and means on said valve body for passing a fluid in heat-exchange relation with the oil in said chamber comprising a jacket surrounding said central chamber; an oil supply line leading from said reservoir to said inlet means; and means connected to said water `discharge line and to said valve for passing a portion of the water being pumped through said line into heat-exchange relationship with said valve, said last-named means including a tubular fitting projecting radially into said line, said -tting having an opening facing in the direction of flow of water being pumped through said line, and said valve assembly including visual inspection means lfor determining the dropwise flow of oil through said valve seat.

2. The combination of cli-aim 1, including means conf nected to said v-alve and said water discharge line for returning wa-ter #from said valve `assembly to said water discharge line, said means including a fitting extending radially into said water discharge line and having an opening facing away from the direction of flow of water being pumped through said line.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein a portion of the central chamber is `formed by elongated, cylindrical walls, the valve stem is cylindrical and cooperates with said cylindrical walls to -forrn a narrow, elongated an- -nulus yfor the passage of oil through said valve assembly, and wherein che jacket surrounds said cylindrical Walls and encompasses said annulus so that the water is passed in direct, heat-exchange relation with said cylindrical walls.

4. An oil drip valve assembly lfor use in lubricating deep well water pumps, said assembly ybeing of the type which is incorporated in a lubricating system including an oil reservoir and `an oil supply line leading from the reservoir to vt-he valve assembly, said drip valve assembly comprising a valve body including walls forming an elongated central chamber with a valve seat Aat one end thereof, an elongated portion of said walls lbeing cylindrical, a valve member having a valve stem extending through said `chamber and cooperating with said seat for varying the flow of oil through said valve assembly, said valve ste-rn being cylindrical and cooperating with said cylindrical walls to define 'a narrow, elongated annulus `for the passage of oil therethrough, oil inlet means adapted to be connected to the oil sup-ply line, said inlet means leading lto said chamber at the end thereof remote from said valve seat, Walls forming a heat-exchange jacket surrounding said cylindrical walls and encompassing said annulus, and means Ifor connecting said jacket to a line leading from the Well for circulating water from the Well in direct, heat-exchange relation with said cylindrical walls.

5. The valve assembly as del-ined in claim 4, wherein said jacket comprises a pair of oppositely-disposed tubular members integral with said valve body, `and including visual inspection means for determining the drop-wise ilow of oil through said valve seat,

6. The combination of claim 1, wherein a portion of the Icentral chamber is formed by elongated, cylindrical walls, the valve stem is cylindrical and cooperates with said cylindrical walls to :form a narrow, elongated annulus for the passage ofoil through said valve assembly, and wherein the jacket surrounds said cylindrical walls and encompasses said annulus so that the water is passed in direct, heat-exchange relation with said cylindrical walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 532,469 Lonergan Jian. 15, 1895 741,309 Clarke Oct. 13, 1903 810,911 Clark Jan. 30, 1906 1,178,646 Johnson Apr, 11, 1916 1,461,520 iForman July 10, 1923 1,526,646 Smith et al. Feb. 17, 1925 2,283,118 Arutunoi May 12, 1942 

1. IN A LUBRICATION SYSTEM FOR A DEEP WELL WATER PUMP, SAID WELL HAVING A WATER DISCHARGE LINE, THE COMBINATION OF AN OIL RESERVOIR; AN OIL DRIP VALVE ASSEMBLY, SAID VALVE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A VALVE BODY HAVING WALLS FORMING A CENTRAL CHAMBER WITH A VALVE SEAT, A VALVE MEMBER HAVING A VALVE STEM COOPERATING WITH SAID SEAT FOR VARYING THE FLOW OF OIL THROUGH SAID VALVE, INLET MEANS LEADING TO SAID CHAMBER FOR ADMISSION OF OIL THERETO, AND MEANS ON SAID VALVE BODY FOR PASSING A FLUID IN HEAT-EXCHANGE RELATION WITH THE OIL IN SAID CHAMBER COMPRISING A JACKET SURROUNDING SAID CENTRAL CHAMBER; AN OIL SUPPLY LINE LEADING FROM SAID RESERVOIR TO SAID INLET MEANS; AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID WATER DISCHARGE LINE AND TO SAID VALVE FOR PASSING A PORTION OF THE WATER BEING PUMPED THROUGH SAID LINE INTO HEAT-EXCHANGE RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID VALVE, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING A TUBULAR FITTING PROJECTING RADIALLY INTO SAID LINE, SAID FITTING HAVING AN OPENING FACING IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF WATER BEING PUMPED THROUGH SAID LINE, AND SAID VALVE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING VISUAL INSPECTION MEANS FOR DETERMINING THE DROPWISE FLOW OF OIL THROUGH SAID VALVE SEAT. 